Team News

Liberty Set for Big South Championship Finals

Liberty is making its first ever appearance in the Big South Championship finals game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Eagle Field in Rock Hill, S.C. The Lady Flames advanced to the championship contest after defeating No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina, 14-8, in Friday's semifnals match. The Eagles are making their first ever appearance in the Big South Championship finals game after erasing a six-goal difference to defeat No. 4 seed High Point by a score of 11-10 in the semifinals match. Sunday's contest will be aired on ESPN3.

Sunday will mark the fourth contest in 15 days that Liberty has suited up to play at Eagle Field in Rock Hill, S.C.

Series History vs. Winthrop Liberty is 1-2 all-time against the Eagles, including the Lady Flames' most recent 17-6 loss at Eagle Field on April 21. Liberty is 1-1 against Winthrop when the contest is played in Rock Hill, S.C.

Liberty at a Glance The Lady Flames defeated No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina, 14-8, on Friday afternoon to capture advance to the Big South Championship finals match for the first time in program history. The Lady Flames improved on their historic season, setting a new single season record for wins with nine.

Morgan Becker continues to pave the way for the Lady Flames' attacking force. Becker enters the contest with 69 points on the season, a new program record for points in a single season. The redshirt senior has netted 37 goals while recording a program single-season record 32 assists.

Katy Pridemore leads the squad on the scoring end of things, having notched 51 goals this season. The freshman's 51 goals set a new program single-season record for most goals scored, passing the previous mark of 41, last season, held by Sam Struss.

Juniors Colleen Ekert and Juliann Elmer anchor the Liberty defense this season. Ekert has picked up 44 ground balls and caused a program record 32 turnoverrs. Elmer stands in goal for Liberty, leading the nation in saves with 203. Elmer's 203 saves broke the Liberty single-season record of 186 saves held by Kristen Masullo in 2011. Elmer leads the team in ground balls with 52, tying Jen Freymond for the most ground balls scooped up in a single season.

Liberty was well represented in Big South postseason honors this year. Ekert and co-captains Nina Dunay and Becker make up the Lady Flames on the first team all-conference. Pridemore, Struss and Kallie Britton earned a spot on the all-conference second team, while Elmer was an honorable mention all-conference nominee. Britton led the Lady Flames offensively in the Big South Championship semifinals, netting a Big South semifinals record six goals and recording eight points.

Winthrop at a Glance The Eagles enter the contest having defeated No. 4 seed Campbell, 11-10 in Friday's Big South Championship semifinals in Rock Hill, S.C. Despite facing a six-goal deficit, Winthrop erased the deficit to notch the first come-from-behind victory in program history.

Winthrop is led by Jenna Kasmarik, the nations leading goal scorer, who has recorded 72 goals and dished out five assists. The Eagles assists leader is Kristen Shriver as the freshman has tallied 26 assists, adding 30 goals to her repertoire.

Defensively, Winthrop is led by freshman of the year Alaina Girani as the goalkeeper is 16-3 overall. Girani has tallied 133 saves, 41 ground balls and three caused turnovers.

What to Watch for Liberty needs three free position goals to set the team record for the most free position goals in a single season with 36. The Lady Flames are also 11 saves shy of setting the all-time record for team saves in a single season.

As for individual records, Juliann Elmer needs just one ground ball to pass Jen Freymond for the most ground balls in a single season with 53.

How to Follow the Game Live stats and a live video stream of the game will be made available courtesy of the Winthrop Media Relations department and ESPN3. Both the live stats link and the live video link can be found by visiting the lacrosse schedule/results page on LibertyFlames.com. Fans can also follow the game through Twitter updates from @LibertyFlames and @libertywlax.